Blossoms Syrup is an award-winning, super-premium syrups brand. The syrups made by the company are unique in taste and provide the quality and intensity required by bartenders. The syrups are supplied to Michelin starred bars such as Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay. The company has attracted press coverage from the Telegraph, Olive magazine, and many Instagram blogs. Blossoms Syrup has won a number of Great Taste awards. The company will use the proceeds to develop sales, marketing and products, and to expand overseas.

HOMYHUB is a multi-award winning startup that aims to unleash the full potential of garages. Customers get full access to their smart garages via smartphones that work as Smart Garage Remotes. The startup has successfully piloted a delivery service in partnership with Correos, Spain's courier service giant, resulting in a commercial contract and interest from other big brands. It has already raised €150,000+, developed and tested the full-product. HOMYHUB has also received recognition from Santander Bank, Digital Logistics, and Porsche, and has featured in publications like Voz Populi and El País. HOMYHUB is ready to launch a commercial project and scale it through marketing, key hirings, and productions which are enough to reach more than 300,000 garages starting from Spain to the rest of Europe.

ReCircle Recycling has designed an appliance meant for installation in households, businesses and new developments to grind glass bottles, compact metal cans, and flake plastic packaging straight into ready to use manufacturing material. This process allows Recircle Recycling to set up a new closed-loop system where packaging is endlessly recycled. It increases the purity and value of all the materials. When manufacturers finally have access to high-grade recycled to minimise their carbon footprints and where consumers and businesses receive payback for the true value of their recycled product. ReCircle collects and delivers materials from a common man's curb 3-8 times a year. It has established strong connections and technology developments with the UK University. ReCircle has also filed patents with the USA, Japan, China, Europe, and India. ReCircle is also building a close relationship with Swansea University. It intends to launch in California, which has the highest recycling rate in the US.

Money Dashboard is an award-winning cash management application which helps over 200,000 people master their cash. The company gives its clients significant information on how businesses like Uber or Deliveroo are doing in the market. It also helps the users in connecting all accounts in one place to plan ahead, track spend and achieve their goals. Money Dashboard is already generating over £970k in annual revenue 2018/19 FY (EBITDA -£958,966). The company has a secured FCA Open Banking license and a strategic partnership with GoCompare. The investment will be used to increase user growth & open new data markets.

Note Taking Express by NX3 Technologies gives innovative note taking solutions. It provides SaaS and helps the students with learning difficulties in the American and UK education markets, with an aim to make learning easy for everyone. The company has over 200 clients in the US and Canada including big names, such as Ivy League HEIs. Its aim is to combine AI and human skills to help users and produce a comprehensive solution for all. In 2018, the company had a turnover of over 400,000 pounds. It is aiming to include the provision of notes for every student in George Brown Community College using its proprietary and bought technology. Note Taking Express will use the funds for its expansion plan into school, colleges, and corporates in the UK and US.

Koolskools is an award-winning clothing company that manufactures and supplies school uniform made in a fully certified Fairtrade in the UK. The company has a corporate client named North Link Ferries, and a latest business customer named Porsche Club GB. Koolskool has won contracts under both the Fairtrade and non-Fairtrade tenders, and it has also won a big contract with the National Union of Students. With the NUS contract, the company is going to scale up the business without compromising its universally known ethics and sustainability credentials.

Unbound is a book publishing company that only produces books which readers want to read by getting them to pre-order through pledging. Its 200k users from 191 countries have pledged £7m+ to fund 436 books including bestsellers like The Good Immigrant and Letters of Note. Unbound is particularly useful among online influencers and content creators, who often have large audiences but fewer ways to monetize. Furthermore, it aims to be the most innovative publishers in the world. Unbound combines data science, crowdfunding and an award-winning publishing brand with an online marketplace. By foretelling future trends, it is better placed to reach instant, data-driven acquisition decisions.

Total Be wants to bring an internationally recognised model of car insurance to the UK. It provides insurance for the car, not just for an individual driver. Additionally, it does not take crime data into account that is not specific to vehicles. Thus, this insurance is estimated to provide up to 25% cheaper cover in comparison to UK insurance. Moreover, a UK Government Petition for this insurance model has gained over 60,000+ signatures, which further validates the demand of this model. Total Be believes that it will be able to disrupt the UK market with this car insurance model.

Get My Grades is an e-learning platform for Maths, English, and Science, providing students with effective practice and revision tools and teachers with meaningful data. Get My Grades reduces teacher's workload, helps students to learn more, allows schools and education systems to access up-to-date data on student attainment, and provides bespoke educational solution to national curriculum anywhere in the world. Get My Grades has evoked interest in major distributors in both the UK and around the world. Within 6 months of launching, the platform signed two international contracts with a minimum revenue of £5.2m pa. With the proceeds, the e-learning platform is planning to expand its core team to address growing global demand for a consistently high-quality education, content and technical development.

DAG Global is the premier digital assets merchant bank seeking to re-establish the connection between client and bank to promote dynamic growth. DAG is well placed to provide banking services to an already growing and sizable market like the digital, fintech, and SME. Currently, DAG Global is applying to the PRA to receive a full UK banking license so that they can clear directly with the Bank of England. This will also enable it to lend to clients and take deposits. Its existing unregulated business lines include OTC, digital assets lending, and direct investment platform.

Verado is a data-driven and scalable proprietary platform that aims to eradicate counterfeits within the watch & jewelry industry. It enables private sellers to sell their luxury watches autonomously online. Verado analyzes thousands of similar items across the internet and gives the fairest price for both buyers and sellers. By adding verification, authentication and financial escrow, Verado is solving a basic problem associated with buying and selling fine jewelry. In a market with zero transparency, Verado is able to provide a community for collectors, sellers, and buyers. The platform has the security and personality of old school selling with the reach and speed of an online platform. The company has achieved €400,000+ sales and 10,000 cellular listings onto the platform. Verado has been featured in many publications like watchuseek, Forbes, and Buzzfeed. With the proceeds, the company is planning to build awareness and build upon its growing community.

I Love Snacks is a brand providing an award-winning range of healthy 'better for you' snacks. Since the launch, I Love Snacks has sold more than 800,000 snacks. The company's mission is to become a globally recognized brand of the healthiest snacks. Its strategy is to reach the global market based on the multi-channel route to market including hospitality & food service, distributors, airline, retail, grocery, and export. In September 2017, it came to the crowd and successfully reached its target in just 4 hours of launching. The brand has already been launched in America, Canada, and Europe, selling in more than 11 countries. I Love Snacks has increased its turnover with sales of over £200,000 this year. With the proceeds, the company will set up its own packaging facility.

Risk Warning

Investing in equity crowdfunding and early stage businesses involves high risks, which may include long-term investment horizons, illiquidity, lack of income and potential dilution. Any investor needs to be in the position to afford a total loss of capital invested.
businessagent.com is targeted at members who have the knowledge and experience to understand these risks and make their own investment decisions. You will NOT invest through businessagent.com but through the relevant crowdfunding website which also has signed off the content as a Financial Promotion on its own website. businessagent.com is not the originator of the financial promotions that appear on its site. However we do to the best of our ability carry out limited compliance checks on the originator and the company seeking funding to seek to ensure they are conforming to FCA regulations and anti-money laundering requirements as appropriate. businessagent.com takes no responsibility for this information or for any recommendations or opinions made by the companies or its users. Click here for our full risk warning.

risk warning

INVESTMENTS

Investing in the shares of start-up and early-stage companies can be satisfying and financially rewarding. But it is also very risky.

For example:

Loss of investment

There is a significant risk that you will lose your investment. Most start-up companies fail, and it can be many years before even the most successful start-up company begins to pay dividends. You are therefore much more likely to lose your investment than you are to see a return of your capital and a profit;

Lack of liquidity

If you make an investment, you will probably not be able to sell it for many years. Although it is sometimes possible to sell shares in a start-up company to other shareholders in the same company, it is much more likely that a share sale will be impossible unless and until the company is listed on a stock exchange or bought by another company. Even the most successful of start-up companies can take years to get to the point where it can be listed or sold;

Dilution

Your investment will probably be diluted. If you invest, you will receive shares in the company. If the company needs to raise more capital at a later date, it may issue new shares. If those shares are offered to existing investors and you choose not to buy any more shares, your share of the company will decline. Your share of the company will also decline if the company only offers its new shares to new investors. The company might also want or need to offer its new shares on better terms than the terms available on its existing shares. For example, the new shares might have preferential rights to dividends or sale proceeds, a right of first refusal on further share issues, or better voting rights than the existing shares. Each of these things is likely to be to your disadvantage.

Rarity of dividends

Dividends are payments made by a business to its shareholders from the company’s profits. Most of the companies pitching for equity are start-ups or early stage companies, and these companies will rarely pay dividends to their investors. This means that you are unlikely to see a return on your investment until you are able to sell your shares. Profits are typically re-invested into the business to fuel growth and build shareholder value. Businesses have no obligation to pay shareholder dividends.

The need for diversification when you invest

Diversification involves spreading your money across multiple investments to reduce risk. However, it will not lessen all types of risk. Diversification is an essential part of investing. Investors should only invest a proportion of their available investment funds and should balance this with safer, more liquid investments

Donations and rewards

Giving money to a company can be satisfying; especially if it’s doing – or wants to do – something you think is worthwhile.However, if you decide to give money to a company and it reaches its minimum target, it will be impossible, or almost impossible, to get it back - even if you change your mind immediately.

Loans

Lending money to start-up and early-stage companies can be satisfying and financially rewarding. But it is also involves risk including Loss of investment and interest payments, Lack of liquidity, Restricted redemption rights, Unsecured investments and being bottom of the chain to be paid when a business winds up. Most start-ups fail, and it can be many months or years before a successful start-up begins to make enough money to be able repay its debts. There is a significant risk that the company you lend money to:

• Will not be able to pay you back. If the company you lend money to cannot afford to repay you, you will lose some or all of the money you loaned to the company. You will also lose some or all of the interest you expected to receive in return for your loan;

• Will not be able to pay you back on time. If the company you lend money to cannot afford to repay you when the repayments are due, you may have to wait – perhaps for many months or years – to recover the money you loaned to the company and the interest you expected to receive in return for your loan;

• Will become insolvent. If the company you lend money to cannot afford to pay its debts to you or to its other creditors, the company may be wound up, dissolved or put it into receivership, liquidation or administration. If any of these things happen, you may not be able to recover the money you loaned to the company or the interest you expected to receive in return for your loan. You may also have to wait many months or years to recover any payment, and that payment may be much less that you would have been entitled to receive if the company had not become insolvent. This might happen because some of the company’s creditors (including the receiver, liquidator or administrator) might be entitled to receive their money before other creditors, and when they have been paid, the company might not have sufficient funds left to pay you.